20TH CENTURY USA

In the early 20th century three new states were admitted to the union, Oklahoma in 1907 and Arizona and New Mexico in 1912.

Also in the early 20th century the USA built the Panama Canal. President Theodore Roosevelt decided to build a canal across Panama in 1902. In 1903 the USA leased a 6-mile wide canal zone for 99 years. The canal was built in the years 1904-1914.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR

When the First World War began in 1914 the USA remained neutral. However Germany alienated American public opinion on 7 May 1915 when a German submarine sank the Cunard liner Lusitania, without warning. Among the 1,198 people killed were 128 Americans. Nevertheless Woodrow Wilson fought the 1916 election partly on the slogan 'he kept us out of the war'.

However on 1 February 1917 Germany began unrestricted submarine warfare. That meant that any neutral ship attempting to trade with Britain was a target for submarines. Furthermore British intelligence intercepted a telegram from Arthur Zimmerman, German Foreign Secretary. It stated that in the event of a war between Germany and the USA efforts should be made to persuade Mexico to attack the USA. The Mexicans were offered parts of the USA as a reward if they did so.

On 6 April 1917 the USA declared war on Germany. America had a strong navy but a relatively small army. However conscription was introduced and the USA began to raise a huge army. The first US soldiers were sent to France in June 1917 but it was the Spring of 1918 before large numbers arrived. By September the US commander General John J. Pershing was able to begin an offensive against the Germans. In September 1918 US troops destroyed a German salient at St Mihiel. They then launched an attack on the Meuse-Argonne area. German troops were pushed back until Germany surrendered on 11 November 1918.

Meanwhile women gained the vote. In April 1917 only 11 states allowed women to vote. However in 1918 the House adopted the 14th amendment, which allowed women to vote. It was ratified in 1919 and came into effect in 1920.

The early 20th century saw internal migration in the USA. Many black people moved from the south to the north especially to the big cities. The National Association For The Advancements of Colored Peoples was founded in 1909 to improve conditions for black people. However there were race riots in several cities in 1919.

However immigration into the USA was severely restricted after 1921 when the Emergency Quota Act was passed.

THE 1920s

For most people (not all) the 1920s were a time of prosperity. In 1912 only 16% of homes had electric light. By 1927 it had risen to 63%. Electrical appliances became common, refrigerators, irons and fans. Radios also became common. By 1930 40% of homes had one. Cars also became common in the 1920s. Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world.

The 1920s were also the era of prohibition. The eighteenth amendment was ratified in 1919 and came into force in 1920. It banned the 'manufacture, sale or transportation' of alcohol. However people simply made alcohol illegally and drank it in 'speakeasies'. Worse, prohibition boosted organised crime as gangsters tried to control the supply of alcohol. Prohibition ended in 1933.

THE WALL STREET CRASH

In 1929 the American economy began to falter. Demand for new cars fell and house building slowed down. However the stock market continued to boom in the late 1920s. Many people bought stocks with borrowed money. As a result the stock market became inflated. Prices rose to a very high level. However, inevitably, some people began to sell. From mid-September prices fell. On 24 October 1929, known as Black Thursday, panic selling began and prices fell catastrophically, an event known as the Wall Street Crash. Business confidence disappeared, banks failed and industry slumped. By 1932 industrial production in the USA had fallen by half and exports fell to one third of their 1929 level. Unemployment went through the roof. By 1932 about one quarter of the work force was unemployed. When people lost their jobs they could no longer buy goods and demand fell so more people lost their jobs. There had been economic slumps in America before but his one was more severe than anything previously experienced. It was known as the Depression.

THE DEPRESSION

President Hoover did try and help. He persuaded employers to maintain wages at their present levels. He also increased spending on roads, bridges and public buildings. However Hoover refused to introduce federal unemployment relief. He believed in what he called 'Rugged individualism'. He believed too much state help would make people dependent.

For the unemployed life during the depression was very harsh. Many were reduced to attending soup kitchens run by charities. (The soup was sometimes called 'Hoover stew'. Destitute people lived in shantytowns they called Hoovervilles. Hoover became deeply unpopular and in 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President.

THE NEW DEAL

Roosevelt assured the American people that the only thing they had to fear was fear itself. He promised the American people 'A New Deal'. However between 1933 and 1939 he had only limited success. Unemployment fell to between 14% and 15% by 1937. However in that year the economy dipped again. (It was called the recession) and unemployment rose to 17%. However industrial production rose to its 1929 level again by 1939.

At first Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass a number of laws in a hectic period known as 'The Hundred Days'. One of the first things Roosevelt did was to close all the banks in the USA by law. The Emergency Banking Act of 9 March 1933 meant they would only open again if the Federal government declared they were solvent. This measure persuaded people it was safe to deposit their savings in banks. Restoring faith in banks was the first step to dealing with the depression.

On 12 May 1933 the Federal Emergency Relief Act was passed to help the unemployed. The states were given grants to provide work like repairing roads and improving parks and schools.

Also in 1933 Roosevelt founded the civilian Conservation Corps, which employed young men on conservation projects. A Public Works Administration was created which built public buildings, bridges and dams. Also the Tennessee Valley Authority was created to build dams and hydroelectric plants.

The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 tried to raise the price of farm produce by reducing supply. Land was set aside and deliberately not used. In 1937 the Farm Security Administration was formed to lend money to tenant farmers to buy their land.

However farmers on the plains suffered terribly during the depression. Over planting, overgrazing and a drought combined to create a 'dust bowl'. Many farmers abandoned the land and went to California in search of work.

In 1935 the Social Security Act created old age pensions and an unemployment insurance scheme. Also in 1935 the National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act upheld workers right to collective bargaining. In 1938 a Fair Labor Standards Act created a minimum wage.

Despite all of Roosevelt's efforts the depression only ended with the coming of war.

THE APPROACH OF WAR

In 1940 Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France. In response Roosevelt started to expand American armed forces. He introduced conscription. Although American public opinion was opposed to joining the war Roosevelt declared that America must be 'the arsenal of democracy'. In January 1941 he introduced the lend-lease bill to Congress. It empowered him to sell, lend or lease arms, food or any other supplies to any country whose defence he deemed vital to the United States. At first lend-lease applied only to Britain but in August Roosevelt extended it to Russia. US troops also occupied Iceland.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR

On 7 December 1941 the Japanese attacked the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. The next day Congress declared war on Japan. On 11 December 1941 Germany and Italy declared war on the USA.

The USA mobilised all its resources for war. Industrial output doubled during World War II and by 1943 there was full employment. Only 2,000 aircraft were made in 1939 but by 1944 the figure was 96,000. The American public suffered less than people in other countries because the USA escaped occupation of air raids.

During World War II many black people migrated from the south to the north and west. Black people became increasingly dissatisfied with their position in American society. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples increased its membership. The Congress for Racial Equality was formed in 1942.

From March 1942 people of Japanese descent, on the west coast, were interned. By September over 100,000 of them had been moved inland. Yet many Japanese Americans served in the US armed forces.

The USA's massive industrial strength made the defeat of the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) inevitable. Unfortunately Roosevelt did not live to see the end of the war. He died on 12 April 1945.

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